Asylum Claims Up 22 Percent in Macron’s France, Down in Populist Countries

France has seen a 22 percent rise in asylum applications in 2018, while populist-led countries such as Italy and Austria have seen sharp declines in claims.

The French Interior Ministry revealed that the country had received 122,743 asylum applications in 2018, continuing the progressive rise in asylum applications which has occurred every year since 2014, Le Mondereports[2].

A total of 46,700 individuals were granted asylum status by the French government in 2018, up nine percent from the previous year according to the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra).

While the largest number of asylum requests came from Afghan, Albanian, Ivory Coat, and Georgian nationals, the main nationalities to actually receive asylum were from Afghanistan, Syria, and Sudan. The total approval rate for asylum applications was 27 percent for initial claims which went up to 36 percent following the appeals process — although it should be noted that rejected claimants are not always deported, either.